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Stadiums split as Marta reigns

Some are knowledgeable, some insightful, but it is an
overwhelming passion for football that is the most distinguishing
feature of the comments that FIFA.com receives in response to our
popular 'Have Your Say' topics. This week, prior to kicking
off the current debate on who should succeed Steve McClaren, we
asked you to give your views on two very different issues: the best
stadium in the world and the greatest-ever female footballer.

In the latter, a clear winner quickly emerged, but the same
could not be said for the former, where users put forward such a
variety of their own favourites that no definitive conclusion could
be reached. In truth, however, that was always likely to be the
outcome in a debate that kicks off this week's Have Your Say
review.

Standout stadium: Brazil and Scotland praised
Over 250 comments poured in on this one, and by the
end there had been almost as many potential contenders ventured.
For a time it appeared that, if there was going to be a winner, it
would come from Brazil, where the fabled Maracana was locked in a
battle for supremacy with Sao Paulo's Morumbi.

Strangely, it was an American,
Bestguile, who helped kick off this debate: "Which
stadium has seem so many great players as Maracana?" he wrote.
"A place where Pele scored his 1000th goal, where Zico,
Romario, Garrincha, Romario and Ronaldo and many others great
players have played, scored and made the fans jump, cry and scream
for the love of this amazing sport called football."

Brazil's best stadiums might have featured prominently, but
if there was a single city that dominated debate, it was Glasgow.
Scotland's football capital boasts three superb arenas in
Celtic Park, Ibrox and the national stadium, Hampden, and there
were plenty of users ready and willing to state the case for each.
One Rangers-supporting user,
amron87, nominated Ibrox but was objective enough to admit
that: "Our nearest and fiercest rivals Celtic equally have one
of the finest stadiums not just in Scotland but in the world...
Hampden gives us three of the best stadiums for atmosphere,
intimidation and passion."

There was also an abundance of support for another of the
world's most atmospheric arenas, the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.
Iranian
alialavi wrote of his country's national stadium:
"When Japan had to play in the Azadi in 2005, at least a
120,000 spectators were inside at 10am and the match was scheduled
I think for 5 or 6pm. And more than 200,000 were standing outside
close doors that early in the morning! I would love to see the
world's best compete in the Azadi. I don't think any team
in the world could perform as well as they do elsewhere."

Fittingly, in the build-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™
Preliminary draw, one South African user,
mathabatha, opted to look forward by writing: "I
think Soccer City in South Africa will be one of the greatest
stadiums in the world when it's completed in 2009, the stadium
will reflect all the African flair."

Women's legends: No match for Marta
It might have proved impossible for our users to
reach a consensus on the issue of the world's foremost stadium,
but they encountered no such problems in crowning their choice as
the greatest ever women's footballer. It was expected that
Birgit Prinz, Mia Hamm et al would run Marta close, but it quickly
became clear that the brilliant young Brazilian would emerge as a
runaway winner. "She is the Pele of Women's
Football," wrote American user
Athos.87, one of many backers. "Brazilian women
currently have the same if not greater skill than the
men."

The likes of Prinz and Sun Wen performed surprisingly poorly,
meanwhile, polling only a couple of votes between them, and yet
Marta would almost certainly have encountered a challenge had the
US vote not been split between two of the women's game's
legendary pioneers: Mia Hamm and Michelle Akers.

The Americans' current star, Abby Wambach, also received a
degree of support, but it was her striking predecessor, Akers, who
earned the most lavish praise from those who remembered the
courageous forward in her peerless pomp. "There hasn't
been anyone as dominant as her in the midfield or striker
role," insisted
jd6885. "She was a ferocious competitor, never gave
up even when she came down with chronic fatigue and immune
dysfunction syndrome. To fight through the mind-numbing pain and
fatigue that comes with CFIDS and to play at the level she played
is a truly remarkable feat for any human being."

Predictably, Hamm established an even wider base of support, so
much so that the American icon left as the closest challenger to
the dominant Marta. Her supporters, and there were plenty of them,
even went as far as to claim that Hamm was a more rounded player
than the much-vaunted Brazilian.

As
bendi999 wrote: "If the question was, who is the
flashiest ball handler and scorer, then it would most likely be
Marta with Mia and Prinz just behind. But the question is: who is
the greatest player? That means all-round player. Mia was great
everywhere on the field, supporting her team-mates, taking
opponents out of the game, scoring or assisting, everything. Her
situational awareness was second to none."

A big thank you to all who contributed their comments to these
topics. The debate on who should be the next England manager
continues to rage on, meanwhile, so why not have your say on that
by putting forward your choice for arguably the toughest job in
football.